


Holding Bloodstained Hands

by sunkelles



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Dark! Rey, F/M, Force Choking, Het, Lightsaber Duels, Major character death - Freeform, borderline at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 21:31:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5642659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunkelles/pseuds/sunkelles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Each time Rey and Kylo have fought, they have gotten a little bit fiercer, gone a little bit darker. So far they have each escaped alive, both desperately wanting to but fearing to draw blood, to finally take the fight to the place they know it will end. One day, one of them will not leave one of their dances alive.</p>
<p>or that one where rey's more than a little dark and finn doesn't realize he's an enabler.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Holding Bloodstained Hands

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is pretty damn dark. i'm also not sure i love the characterization. but at least it's another fic i can add to my "things i'm going to hell for writing" list. One more thing, I feel like I strayed from the prompt, but it inspired me enough that I feel I can say that I filled it. 
> 
> PROMPT: Rey's heart is in the right place, but she has a lot of rage and fear stored up from a lifetime of negative experiences, and she finds herself in too many dire situations where questionable Force use might be the difference between life and death for her and other people. Consequently, it isn't easy to stay on the path of the light, and when lives are at stake, she isn't always sure she wants to.
> 
> Bonus points if Finn is the one who keeps her morally grounded and prevents her from going full-on darkside.

Rey draws her lightsaber as she spots Kylo Ren. He’s dressed in his entire garb: flowing black robes, helmet and he has already drawn his lightsaber. They have faced each other so often now that they have a routine down. It’s become like an intricate dance, somehow both choreographed and improvised. Each time, they have gotten a little bit fiercer, gone a little bit darker. So far they have each escaped alive, both desperately wanting to but fearing to draw blood, to finally take the fight to the place they know it will end. One day, one of them will not leave one of their dances alive.

“You won’t win this time,” Ren tells her, sounding certain. Rey meets him blow for blow, but does not bother to address his words. She has to try to keep her anger at bay. Anger leads to the dark side, and every time that she has faced Kylo in the past her anger and hate have gotten stronger. He jabs low, and Rey blocks him. She tries to predict what he might do next, but it’s difficult. Ren has become more and more unpredictable as their fights have progressed. She hears running steps behind her, and Kylo laughs. It’s such a harsh and bitter sound that it doesn’t sound much like laughter.

“I see you’ve brought your _pet_ ,” he says, and it sounds as though the word leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. It takes Rey a moment to realize that he means _Finn,_ and this is all the time that Kylo needs.  His blood red blade hits her in the upper thigh, and Rey screams as it burns through her clothing and then through her flesh. She stumbles back, but doesn’t fall. She tries to stand up taller, and clutch her lightsaber tighter. The pain is killing her, but she can’t stop. Now this isn’t just her and Kylo. _Finn_ is involved. The last time Finn faced him, Ren nearly killed him. Rey is afraid that Kylo won’t stop at _nearly_ if he gets hold of Finn again.

“Leave him alone,” she hisses. Kylo laughs again, that bitter, mechanical sound, and he doesn’t even bother to strike her again. He sheaths his saber, and sends a blunt wave of force her way. She flies backwards, hitting her head against a tree. The pain spreads from her skull to the rest of her body. Finn shouts her name, and she is struck with a sudden sense of déjà vu. It’s almost exactly like their first battle.

Finn rushes over, worry written all over his face. He reaches her, and kneels in front of her, digging through his bag for medical supplies. Rey can feel the blood running down the side of her head from the impact, feel it turning her hair into a bloody, tangled mess.

“Rey,” he says, “please be alright, please-“ Finn ends his sentence with a scream, as he is dragged backwards by an invisible force. Rey remembers, suddenly that she and Finn weren’t alone with the pain. She can hear Finn sputtering, floating multiple feet up in the air. Kylo grasps at the air with his fist, and Rey recognizes the move well, a force choke.

“Traitor,” Kylo spits, and Rey can feel her worry building and exploding as she wonders how much more effective a stranglehold must be from up in the air. Rey was close to killing Ren herself, a few times back when they fought. When she force choked Ren, it was only for around thirty seconds and he was firmly planted on the ground. Rey still nearly killed him.

Rey can feel her precious moments dissolving into thin air as she forces herself to her feet. Kylo doesn’t seem to notice, too intent on killing the traitor, or too sure that he’s already knocked her out. Rey calls her lightsaber ( _Anakin_ ’s lightsaber) as quickly as she can, and it flies obligingly into her hands. Her entire body aches, and the wound on her legs causes her to limp, but she rushes forward with all of her might.

Rey will not allow Kylo to kill Finn. She can feel anger boiling in her blood, and she runs forward faster than she ever has before. Kylo barely registers the fact that she’s coming, and by the time she’s nearly there he hasn’t even drawn his blade. She slams her lightsaber down in an enormous, powerful arc. Kylo doesn’t catch it this time, and it slices straight through from his shoulder to his hip. His upper body slides off of the rest as his legs collapse. The blood spatters her everywhere from her face to her hands. She hears Finn hit the ground behind her with a thump.

She drops to her knees in front of him, holding his face in her hands.

“Please be alright,” she murmurs, and she hears him start to breathe again. She grabs him, and pulls him up into a hug. Finn’s still alive. He’s there and he’s _Finn_ , and she’s hugging into him, taking in his scent and trying to stabilize herself. Finn’s still there. Kylo didn’t get to kill him, because Rey killed Kylo. She doesn’t know if that makes it better.

“Rey,” he asks, his voice cut off from the force of her hug, “are you… are you alright?” 

“Yes,” Rey says, “Finn, you’re the one that nearly died.”

A look of terror passes across Finn’s face as he asks, “Where’s Ren?”  She finally did it. She finally killed him.

“He’s dead,” Rey says, her voice cracking a little, “I-I killed him, Finn.” Finn, for his part, doesn’t look horrified by this. She doesn't know how she would react if Finn did. 

“It’s alright,” he says, his tone soft and soothing. He runs his fingers through her hair, and she tries to melt into the touch, but she can still feel the cyclone raging inside of her. Rey doesn’t know what to feel. She still feels the fiery rage, even though he’s dead. But now she feels confused and a little bit dirty, because she _doesn’t_ feel guilty. Rey only feels vindicated about the broken corpse lying in front of them. She feels… _powerful_ , and she knows that should scare her more than it does.

“What are we gonna do with the body?” Rey asks, a little awkwardly. She doesn’t know the protocol for this. She’s killed people before, but that was in the heat of battle where they couldn’t deal with this sort of thing. This was an intimate kill, and no matter how much she hated Ren, she does believe he deserves some sort of burial. She couldn’t let his body rot out here, food for bugs and rats.

“We should probably take it back to the base,” Finn says. Kylo Ren is still General Organa’s son. Rey becomes horrified as she realizes that she killed the general’s son. She wonders what the other woman will think of her now. She killed her son in one-on-one combat. Rey killed her son even though she’s not sure that she had to.

“Rey?” he asks.

“I’m fine,” she says, faking a small smile. Finn doesn’t seem to buy it, but doesn’t press further either. Rey grabs his hand, and starts to stand up. Finn is bloody now too, from everywhere that she hugged him to the hand intertwined with hers. It almost looks like they did this together, like it wasn’t solely Rey’s handiwork. The thought makes her feel a little warm inside.

They walk over to the corpse, hand in hand, and Rey realizes just how bad he looks. It hasn’t rained on planet for months, but the ground around him has turned to bloody mud. It smells metallic and dirty all at the same time.The upper half is lying a full foot away from the lower half, so there’s no disguising the fact that Kylo’s body is no longer whole. Finn bites his lip nervously, but doesn’t let go of her hand. Apparently, the sight isn’t disgusting enough to break their sacred handhold.

“I guess we’ll both take half,” Rey says, stifling an awkward chuckle. Rey doesn’t know how she should be reacting to having sliced a man in half, but she doesn’t think that it should be like this. It feels too glib, too awkward. Finn doesn’t seem to care though. He lets go of her hand, gently, and scoops up half of the corpse in his arms. Rey carries the top half; Finn carries the bottom.

They don’t speak as they make the trek back to the base. When they arrive, General Organa is already waiting for them. She’s standing strong, trying to fight off her emotions, but her eyes are still a little puffy and red from the tears she must have shed. Her eyes widen in shock when she notices that her son was split down the middle.

“I’m sorry, general,” Rey says, but her words are a lie. She isn’t sorry at all.  

“Leave him,” General Organa orders. Her voice is soft, a little hoarse from crying, but commanding all the same. Rey doesn’t respond, and neither does Finn. They turn to leave the small room, but the general asks her to wait a moment.

“You’re walking a thin line, Rey,” General Organa warns her. The worst part is that Rey knows that it’s true.

“Goodbye, general,” Rey says, and she and Finn finally leave. Rey felt like she was suffocating in there. Apparently, her feelings show on her face. Finn takes her hand, still stained red with blood.

“You’re a good person, Rey,” he assures her. She’s not sure if that’s true anymore, or if it was true to begin with. She clutches his hand a little tighter, though, and doesn’t regret her actions. They kept Finn alive, and that’s the thing that matters most. She leans her head against his shoulder, and takes a deep breath. Finn is there. Finn is still there, even after seeing the damage she caused, and that’s what she really needed to know. They will survive this together, no matter what. Finn won't stop taking her hands now that they are bloodstained, and Rey heaves a sigh of relief. 

**Author's Note:**

> I think that I have some strange addiction to writing finn/rey where one or both of them fights kylo? (this is the THIRD ONE OH MY GOD GUYS) this is, however the first one that goes this direction.
> 
> You know, the dead kylo direction.


End file.
